This invention relates to food products. More particularly, the invention relates to textured whey protein for use as an extender of ground meat products, meat analog, and snack food and to methods of making thereof.
There is a great demand for an extender of coarse-ground meat products. The market is currently occupied by a variety of textured vegetable proteins (TVPs), especially those from soybeans. Since 1983 most U.S. military purchases of ground beef have specified inclusion of 20% hydrated soy protein. Soy Proteins History, Prospects in Food, 3 INFORM 429-444 (1992). At the Third Annual Soy Symposium held in November, 1998, it was reported that the market for meatless meat products in the U.S. and Canada reached $180 million in 1995, $265 million in 1996, and was expected to reach $376 million in 1998. N. Chapman, Where Is the Soyfood Market Headed, Third Annual Soyfoods Symposium (1998) (www.soyfoods.com/symposium98/ChapmanPaper98.html). It is predicted that the market for meatless meat products will pass one billion dollars by the year 2001.
The market for meatless meat products supplies diverse consumers and is not exclusive to soy products. At least 80% of those consuming meat alternatives do not consider themselves vegetarians; Americans are now simply more open to healthy eating options than in the past. Midwest Grain Products, Inc. produces a texturized wheat gluten called WHEATEX, which is used by Gardenburger in its GARDEN VEGAN VEGGIE PATTIES. M. Davis, Atchison, Kans.-based Grain Products Company Finds New Uses for Gluten, Kansas City Star (Dec. 9, 1998). Considering the meat alternative market, texturized WPC 80 (whey protein concentrate containing 80% protein), a widely available, inexpensive, and nutritious protein source, would be expected to be a competitive product.
Thermoplastic extrusion is one of the methods used to texture protein-containing mixtures. High pressure and temperature (greater than 130° C. to 140° C.) melt globular proteins and carbohydrates into incompatible phases that form a dispersion and contribute to the formation of a fibrous structure. V. Tolstoguzov, Thermoplastic Extrusion—The Mechanism for the Formation of Extrudate Structure and Properties, 70 J. Amer. Oil Chem. Soc. 417-424 (1993). Whey proteins, however, are more heat sensitive than are other proteins. Typical high-temperature extrusion methods would burn whey proteins. Therefore, if whey proteins are to be used for making a textured whey protein product, a method of extruding such proteins without burning them is needed.
In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that providing textured whey protein products and methods of making thereof would be significant advancements in the art.